The Central Committee of the Communist Party /KPRF/ has a persisting split which the Party is no longer trying to conceal, the Izvestia writes. Yegor Ligachyov, the eldest member of the governing body, wrote a letter to the presidium of the Central Committee, in which he accused several colleagues of usurping powers and said he was standing by those who disagreed with Party leader Gennady Zyuganov's policy.
The Party conflict broke out after the meeting of the delegates of the second, "restoring" KPRF congress on December 8, at which the participants demanded Zyuganov's resignation and Party leadership reshuffle, the newspaper writes. Taking part in the conference were Central Committee members Yevgeny Kopyshev, Alexander Frolov, Vladimir Ulas and Anatoly Porotikov. KPRF Central Committee Secretary Sergei Obukhov, irate over their involvement, threatened to oust them from the Central Committee, in an interview to the Izvestia.
"The Congress will take place, and they no longer will be Central Committee members. The Communists are indignant that some persons who are nameless nobodies, are trying to determine the future of the Party," Obukhov said as he lashed out at the dissenters.
Ligachyov's letter, as an answer to these remarks, criticized Obukhov and suggested raising the issue of his belonging to Party leadership. "He's already decided everything; /he has/ set the form of reprisals against a group of KPRF Central Committee members. I know them by name. They are true Communists, the honor and conscience of the Party. I appreciate the fate's bringing me so close to them," he underlined.
The split at the Party is getting worse, Central Committee member and State Duma lawmaker Vladimir Pozdnyakkov stated. "At a /political/ party, people have the right to an opinion of their own. But when these opinions turn into Opposition moves and organized forms, Obukhov, as a member of the Central Committee presidium, has denounced them. However, there has been no official decision," the Communists explained, adding that "he has expressed his opinion. Yegor Ligachyov, a person of much authority at the Party, has expressed his. The Congress will evaluate their actions. But the split is getting worse."
Zyuganov may stop the split, yet his positions will be growing weaker, dean of the department for sociology and political science at the Financial University under the Russian government Alexander Shatilov said.
"The problem of overhauling the Party is ripe. Yegor Ligachov has certain authority, and his position might have part of the Communists confused, especially younger ones. So far, Zyuganov has been bossing around the Party in a quite precise manner, trying to rule out even the minimal alternatives to him. So he will probably emerge victorious from this battlefield. But the upcoming congress is most likely to be last one at which he will achieve victory."
The newspaper reminds that the 15th Congress of the Russian Communist Party will take place in Moscow on February 24-25, 2013.